The Future Awaits
by Aeari
Summary: Lucy leaves Fairy Tail for two months. She tries to find out what happened, how people felt when she left. She chooses to become a new person, but she doesn't bump into the guild the way she wanted to. Will she find out why Lisanna keeps disappearing, and why Natsu keeps crying at night? Eventual Nalu. [Some swearing.]
1. Lucy to Lumia

**Golden Galaxies**

Lucy was walking to the guild hall – it was a Sunday afternoon and she was planning to get a smoothie. The sun was hot and blistering and Lucy even had to put Plue back in the key because he was melting. She sighed, and wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeveless arm. She tried her best to be happy, every day she put on a fake smile before walking into the guild hall. And, of course, nobody noticed. Today, though, she decided to try a smoothie, instead of her usual milkshake. She stopped, and looked up at the towering wooden door standing in front of her bulkily. She pushed her fringe behind her ear, adjusted her tool-belt, bow, and boots and pushed the large door open. "Hey!" Lucy cheered, there was a few mutters of hello, but it didn't put her off. She walked to the bar, where Mirajane stood, cleaning a glass with a dishtowel. "Hai, Lucy!" Mira looked up, smiling slightly. Mira was one of the few people who still noticed Lucy. Lucy smiled at Mira. "The usual?" Mira asked. Lucy shook her head. "Nah. Something different, can I have the smoothie menu?" Mira nodded and passed Lucy the smoothie menu, she looked at it eagerly, while fiddling with a strand of loose hair. She paused for a stray moment before looking up. "Starfruit & Lemon smoothie sounds good," Lucy said. "Oke, coming right up." "Thanks, Mira." Lucy said, passing Mira a few money

notes before drinking the smoothie she just set in front of her. Suddenly, the guild door burst open, Natsu's team was back, after a whole year.

Lucy stared at the door like she couldn't quite believe it, they were back. Natsu was shouting, Gray cheering, Erza smiling all around, Wendy chattering, but then she saw Lissana. Lissana had hooked arms with Natsu and was peering around, looking for Lucy's horrified face. Lucy noticed this and quickly regained her composure, and faced the counter again, drinking her smoothie. Mirajane had left the counter to go see her little sister, Lucy couldn't blame her, it had been a year, after all. Although, she couldn't help but notice they hadn't noticed her. Lucy finished up her smoothie, and was about to leave, she looked up. Her favourite blue exceed was looking at her. "Lucy... where are you going? We only just came back!" Happy cried. "It's none of your concern. Don't worry yourself over it." Lucy smiled at him and rubbed his head. "But Lucy…" Happys little eyes began to fill up with tears. "Aww _Happy,_ " Lucy began, "When you guys left without me, I felt so lost. I was alone. They all forgot about me, and, gradually, everyone here forgot about me, well…" She sniffed. "Except Mira, Levy and Gajeel, but those two are on a quest, and now Lissana's back I'm guessing Mira will want to spend most of her time with err... Lissana _her_ , I guess I really was just Lissana's replacement." Lucy heard a voice behind her. "Too right" It scoffed. Lucy turned around. Lissana. "Look… I don't have time for this. I really gotta go..." Lucy pushed past Lissana and ran out of the guild hall, only Happy and Lissana noticed. Neither went after her, for one, Happy was too shocked, and Lissana honestly couldn't care less.

Lucy ran to her house, and shoved all her close possessions into a wizard bag, (Erza would use one but she wouldn't want her cakes to get squashed.) which is basically an endless bag. Then, she left her house key on the table, under a note, and left. She had no idea where she was going, other than away from the guild. She wasn't going to tell the master, no, she was going to keep her fairy tail emblem and then maybe return one day, stronger. She didn't know. Although she did decide she wanted to stay out of sight, so she went into the deep Magnolia forest. She was still wondering what to do, when the thought struck her. She could train. "Open, Gate of the Crab, Cancer!" She called, holding the key forward. "Hey baby, what can I do for you to-day?" Cancer said, his teeth gleaming as he smiled toothily.

"Hallo, Cancer, do you have any hair dye, eye contacts and scent coverers? I can ask Virgo for clothes." Lucy explained as thinly as she could, she didn't want rumours, especially to Loke. Knowing him he would march straight to the guild hall and give them a piece of his mind.

"Come to think of it, I do have all those things, except c-clothes, baby. Although I would suggest dip-dying your hair not fully dying it, baby!"

"Fair enough, I agree, what colour hair dye?"

"Blue, purple, red, black, brown, grey and white."

"Huh… Not white, doesn't change much, not black, clashes too much, I'm gonna go purple." Cancer clipped his scissors on Lucy's hair and the ends of her blonde hair became a light purple, kind of lilac colour. Lucy twirled and stuck her tongue out playfully.

"Perfect, now, what eye contacts do you have?"

"Uhh… baby, I have none of those, although I do have the power to change your eye colour without contacts, baby. The colours are; lilac, pink, blue, aqua, turquoise, black and white. And, baby, may I say that these apparently are natural for you, but, I would have to do each eye a different colour."

"Huh, then I choose… pink and lilac!"

"Of course, baby." A puff of smoke appeared around Lucy, making her cough, but, her eyes had changed. She grinned happily.

"Thanks, Cancer, that will be all." She said, closing his gate with a poof. She sighed, before clicking the key back on to her belt and removing another.

"Open, gate of the maiden, Virgo!" She called, and Virgo appeared in front of her with a poof.

"Is it time for my punishment?" Asked Virgo casually.

"No, Virgo, do you have any clothes?"

"Of course," Virgo said, handing Lucy a bundle of clothes. "I must be going, ta-ta!" Virgo said, disappearing with a cloud of golden smoke following behind. Lucy face palmed. Her spirits were crazy as hell. Lucy checked all around her making sure no… weird people were watching, then she slipped her old clothes off and put her new ones on. They were pretty, a gold dress with silver stars sewn around the long sleeves, and frills striped in silver and gold went down to her knees. She wore white boots with black laces, and her newly dyed hair was in two high ponytails, similar to Wendy's, with gold stars clipped at the top. 'Now,' Lucy thought, 'to think of a name.' She bit her nails anxiously, thinking and thinking. 'How bout... Lumia? Short for Luminescent, a bright light.' She agreed. 'Now, last name.' Her nails were getting shorter by the minute. 'Star, no. Sun, no. Sun hmm… Sun rays… that's it! Lumia Ray!' She smiled to herself happily. Lucy picked up her wizard's bag and walked into the forest.

 **2 Months Later**


	2. Old friends become new

**Golden Galaxies**

Quick note! I will be using _this font_ for Lucy's thoughts now! And although she changed her name I will still be saying Lucy, just to make it simpler. Thanks~.

 **2 Months Later**

Natsu approached Magnolia forest with the rest of his team, 2 months ago Lucy had disappeared, and nobody knew anything about it. Well, Happy did, but Lissana had threatened Happy into not telling anyone, it's evil really. Natsu was walking around the forest, looking through bushes. The quest that they had been given was to find someone who had been killing all the animals, and capture them. All of a sudden there was a sudden rustle in a bush behind Wendy.  
"Over there!" Gray shouted.  
"Yes, like my love said, over there!" Juvia commented.  
"What did you say, Juvia?" Gray raised an eyebrow.  
"N-nothing!" Juvia stuttered, blushing slightly.  
Erza walked up to the bush and poked it with her sword lightly.  
"Ouch!" The bush said.  
"Since when do bushes talk…" Wendy giggled.  
"Child, get behind me." Charle said sternly.  
"Who goes there?" said Erza, soldier-like.  
The bush wiggled slightly, then a figure climbed out of it, before swiftly climbing up a nearby tree.  
"Come down here or my Natsu will burn you!" Lissana shouted cheerily.  
 _Your Natsu? Things have really escalated haven't they?  
_ "Lissana, we aren't going out." Natsu said, embarrassed.  
"Not yet, babe." Lissana said, yandere like.  
"Guys, you are way off topic. Someone needs to get that person down from the tree." Erza scowled.  
"I will!" Natsu cheered, smashing his fists against each other, sparking flames.  
"No, let me do it, pyro, you'll burn everything." Gray said icily.  
"Ice brains!" Natsu argued.  
 _This hasn't changed though, has it?  
_ "Natsu, Gray, on topic. Both of you." Erza gave them a deathly glare.  
"I'll do it!" Wendy offered.  
"Sure Wendy, go ahead."  
"SKY DRAGON ROAAAR!" Air shot from Wendy's mouth, making the person in the tree fall down with a bang. Erza had pinned them to the floor in seconds, examining the wanted poster and then their face, the pictures matching immaculately.  
"Ouchy…" They rubbed their head.  
"So, you must be the one who is murdering innocent animals. Otherwise known as the attacker. Well, sorry attacker, but you're coming with us." Erza said gruffly.  
"Nope, sorry, gotta dash." The attacker leaped up and ran off, while Team Natsu stood there in awe.  
"HOW DARE SHE!" Erza bellowed, shaking the leaves out of her hair.  
"She just…" Natsu murmured.  
"That girl literally." Gray mumbled.  
"Now we have to go after them again, Nat-Nat, will you carry me?" Lissana moaned, tugging Natsu's clothes.  
"Come on then, let's get a move on!" Wendy urged, optimistically.  
"Ok then, Wendy's right, we can't let a criminal walk over us like that." Erza scowled.

Meanwhile…

Lucy grabbed one of her keys off her belt.  
"Open, gate of the crab, Cancer!" She announced.  
"Hey, baby, do you need me too snippety, snip snippy?" Cancer remarked.  
"No, Cancer, do you have any scent hiders?" Lucy said quickly.  
"Sure, cherry blossom or the sea?" Cancer asked.  
"Cherry B, please, hurry." Lucy urged.  
"Ok, right up." In a puff of smoke Lucy's scent had changed, and Cancer had gone, she quickly stuffed her keys into the dress that she was still wearing.  
 _Thank god_

Team Natsu once again started patrolling the forest, looking for anything out of the ordinary, when all of a sudden they heard some humming. Quickly, they hid behind the closest mess of leaves, and peered over, looking. There was the girl, dawdling down the path, humming to herself merrily.  
"What are we gonna do?" Juvia breathed.  
"I don't know, Natsu?" Lissana said sweetly, slinging an arm over his shoulder.  
"Yeah, Natsu, what we gonna do?" Gray rolled his eyes.  
"I don't know! Ask Erza!"  
"Gray. Freeze the ground, then me and Wendy will go up and restrain her. Natsu, Lissana, Charle, Happy. Stay here. Juvia, we might need your water restraint." Erza took charge.  
They moved on in, Lucy carried on strolling down the path, not a care in the world. Until…  
"NOW!" Erza screeched. Gray froze the floor, causing Lucy to slip over and scratch her elbow, and giving Erza time to run up and click handcuffs around Lucy's wrists.  
"Drat." She muttered.  
"I got you now!" Erza said, hyper.  
"What do you want." Lucy complained, frostily.  
"You have been killing innocent animals, and you have been wanted in Magnolia for it." Erza replied.  
"Wasn't me!" Lucy looked around, and thought of an idea. "Say, are you wizards?" She exclaimed, putting an accent on to disguise her voice.  
"We are indeed wizards, why do you ask?" Erza asked.  
"I've always wanted to join a guild!" Lucy looked at them with her puppy dog eyes.  
 _My guild mark has worn away…  
_ "Then come with us!" Natsu smiled.  
"Yeah, we are always looking for new members!" Gray grinned.  
"Yep! They even let me join!" Wendy said shyly.  
"No. She is a wanted criminal." Erza pinned.  
"It was worth a try; I guess I will never join a guild." Lucy whispered.  
Erza softened up a bit.  
"Oh alright then! What's your name?" Erza gave in.  
"I'm Lumia, Lumia Ray." Lucy said.  
"Nice name, I'm Erza Scarlet. I love your hair by the way." Erza said adoringly.  
"I love yours too, it matches your last name." Lucy replied admirably.  
"What magic do you use, Lumia?" Gray asked.  
"Oh, um…" Lucy looked around guiltily.  
"What's wrong?" Erza asked.  
"I don't know any magic; I was hoping you guys could help me… learn magic." Lucy said sadly, expecting a negative response, she looked down at the floor.  
"Of course we could teach you!" Natsu, Erza and Gray said together.  
"Are you… serious?" Lucy said.  
"Yeah!" They said, together once again.  
"Oh," Natsu said, "do you know anyone called Lucy?"  
 _Why does he want to know?_  
"I'm afraid I don't," Lucy lied. "Why do you ask?"  
"We had an old Conrad called Lucy, out of the excitement of our other friend, Lissana here, coming back, we forgot to invite Lucy on a mission with us." Erza said. "And we may have forgot to say hello when we came back." She added guiltily.  
"Yeah, we miss her so much." Lissana said, a dark look in her eye.  
Lucy eyed her suspiciously, before wincing in pain, she looked down at her elbow as it was bleeding slightly.  
"Drat." She muttered under her breath. "Gotta go guys!" She turned to go.  
"Lumia, don't go! I thought we were going to the guild, we were going to teach you magic weren't we?" Natsu asked.  
Lucy turned around at the group.  
"You sure?" She asked.  
They nodded in reply.  
"Let's go train, then." Lucy said, before scratching the back of her head. "Wait, where's your guild?"  
Everybody but Lissana laughed.  
"Just this way." They said, before walking into Magnolia forest, to Fairy Tail.


	3. Titania's Training

**Golden Galaxies**

Hey guys, just gonna say Lucy's thoughts are still gonna be _this font_ and thanks for all the positivity about this, I'm going to try and keep it up making it good, and not make it slip to one of those fanfics that just repeats themselves. And, I don't know if I want to add the 7-year gap after Tenrou, I'm gonna ponder on it. Baiii.

* * *

 **In Magnolia**

Lucy was walking through Magnolia with Team Natsu, they had just come out of the forest and they were walking past all the houses, Lucy knew she couldn't have her old apartment, it would be too risky. Seriously, all the houses in Magnolia and she chooses the same one that their Lucy did, well to them it would seem suspicious. Although, to be completely honest, she was curious who had her house.

"So, Lumia, you looking forward to coming to the guild?" Erza asked.  
"Where are you going to get your guild mark?" Wendy wondered.  
"Uh yeah, and you can call me Lumi if you want." Lucy offered.  
"Can I call you Lumin?" Erza asked.  
"Yeah, sure, Lumia is a shortened version of Lumina after all." Lucy smiled.  
"That's cool." Gray commented.  
"NEW LOVE RIVAL!" Juvia exclaimed.  
"Love – what?" Lucy asked, pretending to be confused.  
"Oh um… nothing." Juvia stuttered, going silent after Gray looked at her.  
"Anyways… What's your guild like? What events do you have?" Lucy asked.  
"Well, soon we have the S-Class trial." Erza said.  
"What's that?" Lucy quizzed.  
"Well, the s-class rank is what the stronger members of Fairy-Tail get, and every year there is an s-class trial, deciding who is worthy enough to become s-class." Erza replied.  
"Oh I see," Lucy said, looking over at Lissana and Natsu, who were walking together, oddly quiet.  
 _Do they really love each other?  
_ They stopped outside of Lucy's old house, and Lissana pointed at it.  
"This is my apartment." Lissana smirked.  
 _WHAT THE HELL?!_

"We're here!" Erza shouted, banging the door open.  
"Welcome back!" Everybody cheered.  
Mirajane walked up to the group, and seemed to be avoiding Lissana.  
 _What happened there, I wonder.  
_ "Who's this?" Mira asked cheerfully, looking at Lucy.  
"This is Lumia, or Lumina, Ray. She is hoping to join the guild."  
"Yay!" Mira smiled, she seemed to already have the stamp ready in her hand. "Where do you want it?"  
"Umm…" Lucy hesitated for a moment.  
 _Having it on my hand would be too obvious.  
_ "Here!" Lucy pointed to the place just above her wrist. "In lilac!"  
*Poof* Mira stamped Lucy's hand, before looking at her clothes.  
"Your clothes are awfully ripped up, aren't they?" Mira grilled Lucy.  
Lucy sweat dropped. "I-I guess."  
"Here you go!" Mira passed Lucy a hoodie, t-shirt and shorts from under the counter. "Change into these, Lumia!"

Lucy walked into the guilds changing rooms, and got changed into her new clothes, making sure her gate keys where still safely hidden from anybody who just happened to notice them. The hoodie was a nice light blue colour, and the shorts a blue jean style. The T-shirt, that just happened to be hidden by the hoodie, was white with a giant ginger cat in the middle. Lucy had also found a white hair tie hidden in the large bundle of clothes, she tied her dip-dyed hair back and looked at herself in the mirror.  
 _Wow, I really do look like a different person._

Lucy strolled back into the main guild hall to have a Erza clinging to her shoulder.  
"Lumin, let's start training! I'll be training you in Hand to hand combat, and eventually requip."  
"Already?" Lucy asked.  
"Yes, let's get a move on." Erza pushed.  
"Yes ma'am!" Lucy teased.

Lucy and Erza moved outside, onto a large patch of dirt outside the guild. It was sunny, the sun mocking them, making them sweat more than needed.  
"First, I need to test your skill at the moment." Erza said, handing Lucy a sword. "This fight is fair, well, kind of, I have had years more practise, heh. …Now go!"  
Erza stepped forward, attempting to hit Lucy with her sword, but Lucy blocked it and jumped back.  
 _I didn't go in the woods for 2 months for nothing, Titania._

"You're a speedy one, I noticed that in the woods. Now, try to use your speed to get your opponent of guard, but, be sure to keep your surroundings clear."  
Lucy nodded, then got ready for her next move. Erza lunged forward, and Lucy got ready to swing at her, but Erza swooped behind, knocking Lucy to the ground.  
"Ouch, Erza."  
"Go with your gut, the movements are mostly fake." Erza explained.  
7 Hours of gruesome training later, in the guild hall.

"My face hurts!" Lucy said, gripping her face.  
"Here let me look." Natsu said calmly, moving Lucy's hand away from your face.  
Lissana scowled at Lucy angrily.  
 _That jealous cow is probably burning up right now._

"Oh! Natsu, I meant to ask. Are you going out with Lissana?" Lucy asked curiously.  
"HE IS!" Lissana shouted.  
"No." Natsu shook his head firmly. "I'm not."  
"But Nat!" Lissana whinged, moving closer towards Natsu and shoving her face in his scarf.  
Natsu shifted away uncomfortably.  
"Why are you trying to blow your nose on me?" He asked, giving her a -your-stranger-than-me look.  
Lucy burst out laughing, Natsu was still as clueless as ever.

Lissana frowned and walked away, pretending to cry to herself. Only Natsu, her and Happy where at the table now.  
"What happened to your face?" Natsu asked, chuckling.  
Lucy's face was completely sunburnt, she looked like a burnt lobster.  
Natsu caught her eyes.  
"Say, I never noticed, but your eyes are damn pretty." Natsu commented.  
"They are?" Lucy questioned, trying not to blush.  
 _Why am I blushing?! He and Lissana are meant to be going out.  
_

Lucy yawned, she hadn't realised sooner but she was beat. She rested her head on the table.  
 _This is a lot softer than twigs.  
So soft…  
Just gonna close my eyes… for one minute._

"Lumia?" Erza looked around the guild hall for the girl.  
"Lumin?" Erza asked the air again, she heard slight snuffling from one of the tables. Lucy was asleep, her head resting on the table, her face looking still sunburnt, but yet again peaceful. The guild hall was quiet, it was 6am and… oh wait what was that noise?  
"YOU WANNA FIGHT, SNOW STRIPPER?" A loud voice shouted.  
"FLAME BREATH I WILL BEAT YOU SO HARD!" The other voice bellowed.  
"Yeah! Go on Nat-Nat, you can win!" The feminine noise spoke.  
"WHY DON'T I HAVE A CHEERLEADER?!" Gray screeched.  
Juvia was there in seconds.  
"DARLING GRAY, YOU CAN DO IT, STRIPPITY STRIP, LET'S GET TO IT!" Juvia sang.

 _What is that racket?  
_ Lucy felt a tugging at her arm.  
 _Five more minutes…  
_ The tugging got harder.  
 _Stop it, mum._  
The tugging stopped.  
 _I don't wanna go school._

"LUMINA WAKE UP!" Erza screamed. She had given up tugging at the girl's arm, she just seemed to shrug it off then carry on sleeping as if nothing happened. Although, she did have quite a bit of respect for the girl, being able to hold her own in a fight against her, Titania, although it wasn't for long. Erza chuckled at the thought.

"What are you laughing at? Lucy asked drowsily.  
"Training time~!" Erza sang.  
"Oh Mavis, save me." Lucy whispered.

"No, Lumin, you need to concentrate. Don't get side-tracked."  
"Ok, let's go again."  
Erza took the first move, she ran forward then swung at Lucy, but Lucy dodged it and leapt upwards, resting on her sword.  
 _Lissana has my old apartment? The cheek…_  
Erza knocked her to the floor.  
"Lumin, you will never be able to take part in the S-class trial at this rate!"  
"Oh, no!" Lucy said sarcastically. "How dreadful!"  
"I'm serious, you could be a great wizard if you DIDN'T GET SIDETRACKED!"  
"Ok, Erza. I'm sorry." Lucy bowed in apologetics.

Erza had gone home, it was night time but Lucy was going to carry on training.  
 _I will try. I will. I will become stronger than you, one day, Erza, Mira, Juvia, Gray, Natsu.  
And you, Lissana._


	4. Green Flames

The S-Class Trials got closer and closer, and, Lucy's training got harder and harder. She found herself going out at night times to try and get stronger. She wanted to be strong. She hardly noticed anyone else around her. She didn't know how long it had been since she had re-joined the guild, but she had finished all that Erza would teach her and now she was on to Natsu.

Of course, at first Natsu couldn't teach her how to do anything with fire because a dragon taught him, but he did try. The training that Erza gave Lucy improved her hand-on-hand combat skills, and at the end Erza had bestowed her with a beautiful katana, it had a firm handle imprinted with pictures of trees and nature.

Natsu was basically teaching her how to battle. At first, Lucy had named it stupid, but as the sessions went on and as Natsu begun teaching her more, she began to progress. And after a while, she got the feel of something surrounding her.

Natsu had his fire, Lucy knew that. Yet when she fought she had this presence around her hands, not unlike Natsu's fire. After many training sessions, the presence became visible, it was a warm green glow.

It was named 'Lumia's fire.' In a way, it reminded her of her celestial spirits glow. It reminded her of Loke, and as she thought of him she ached in some way she couldn't explain. Lucy couldn't say she loved her old life, where she was ignored and mistreated, but she couldn't say it was horrible either.

She had her celestial spirits. Loke, Virgo, Taurus, Cancer, say, she even missed Aquarius. But her life was different now. She was no longer Lucy. She was Lumina, a member of Fairy Tail. A noticed member.

"Hey, Lumina!" Natsu shouted, beckoning her over.

"Hm?" She questioned.

"Wanna train? You are actually becoming a good sparring partner, with that fire of yours!"

Lucy hadn't had any plans, and heck, she enjoyed the one on one time with Natsu, therefore she nodded.

"Great, c'mon then."

They started to roam into the forest, in search of a nice place to spar. As they walked Lucy could almost feel the slight sadness radiating from Natsu. She still cared about her friend, despite what he had done to her. She almost thought it wasn't his fault, more Lissana's. She just needed proof.

"Natsu?" Said Lucy, snapping Natsu out of his daze.

"Whazzup, Lumia?" Natsu said, turning around, and trying to read her expression.

"You seem sad today. You OK?"

"Yes, just missing someone. Nakama."

"I see."

They soon came to a suitable spot, and Lucy smiled as Natsu seemed happy again. He sported his infamous Dragneel grin, and he was smashing his fists together obviously, all FIRED UP! Whenever she fought with Natsu though, they normally returned beat up and Wendy had to heal them both. Often, they still had the nasty bruises left though.

Natsu sprang forward first, his fist alight with his wonderful ruby fire.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" He shouted.

Lucy dodged, but unfortunately not fast enough, catching her leg slightly. Natsu couldn't eat Lucy's green flames, he didn't know why though. He normally said it was just because they were 'weird.'

"Green Flame Dance!" Shouted Lucy, jumping forward, the green flames surrounding her like frenzied snakes.

A flame hit Natsu, catching him off guard and smashing him to the floor.

When Natsu went against Lucy, they both decided that Lucy shouldn't use her katana. This put Lucy at a major disadvantage. Well, that wasn't the only thing. The fact that Natsu had been training a lot longer than her, and mastered more techniques also played a rather large part.

"Oi! That hurt!" Natsu energetically sprang up, proving the point he had a lot more in him. Lucy stepped back, analysing the scene, and trying to predict his next move. She thought that he wouldn't use a special move again, just come at her fist against fist. Well, she was wrong. Natsu jumped up into the air swiftly and:

"FIRE DRAGONS ROAR!"

It hit Lucy square on, she had no time to react. Well, that was a lie; she could react. And she did.

"Shit." She cursed to herself while engulfed in fire.

Lucy covered herself in green fire, like Natsu when he was angry, and threw Natsu's flames from her. She had a few burns, but she wasn't weak. Weak was a horrible word in her opinion.

"Good try, Natsu." Lucy panted. She wasn't hot, she couldn't feel the heat any more after getting her own flames.

Natsu laughed, not evilly, more relaxed, and ready.

"GREEN FLAME VINES!" Lucy shrieked, vines made of fire jumped from the ground and wrapped around Natsu's arms and legs.

While he was momentarily trapped Lucy decided to act. She sprang from her spot and punched Natsu around the face with her fist. She did it again, after she saw the flames were still holding him. But then they failed her.

The flames dropped slowly to the floor, shocking Lucy and making her freeze up for a second. Natsu took this to his advantage, and wrapped his arms around Lucy, like a weed around a flower. He considered her beautiful lilac and pink eyes, and her breath hitched for a second.

She didn't struggle, not even when Natsu engulfed them both in fire, and when her vision went slightly hazy. She just stared into his obsidian eyes and smiled.

In the end, her flames acted upon their own accord. They protected her, lashing out at Natsu's fire and eventually forcing Natsu to back away. Lucy, inside of the flames, was burnt quite badly, and she was bleeding a bit.

She was rather dizzy, and her eyes were slowly closing. She could feel herself falling to the floor, but she wouldn't let that happen.

Losing, to Natsu? She would never hear the end of it.

She forced herself up and, swaying slightly, opened her eyes. She could see Natsu looking at her with a concerned expression. She didn't want him to be concerned about her. She wasn't weak.

"Lumina? Did I go too far?" Natsu asked worriedly.

"I-I'm f-fine… Let's carry on, N-Natsu." Lucy replied, her words hurting her throat slightly.

"No. We need to get back to the guild. I hurt you. I'm sorry."

Lucy scanned his body quickly and realised he only had a few scratches here and there. Well, his face was rather bruised from where she had pummelled him but still, she was weaker than ever.

"NO!" Lucy said, forcing herself not to stutter. "I am not weak."

"I never said you were weak! Lumina!" Natsu said, horrified.

Lucy's fists got covered in their green haze and Lucy began to walk towards Natsu, her normal pixie-like eyes now dangerously red, something seemed to be taking over her body.

 _Weaklings always give in. He thinks you are weak, he wants to send you to get healed. Show him._ A voice told her in her head. She could feel herself getting slowly taken over. Not by her green flames, they were trying to prevent it. However, something was in her mind, plaguing her.

Natsu could tell something was up. That wasn't the Lumina he knew. The lilac ends of her hair were soon replaced with a red colour that looked like blood. He didn't want to hurt her. In fact, she was already hurt. He needed to get her back asap.

"Dragneel, I will hurt you!" Lucy roared, jumping forward. Her green flames seemed to be fighting off black flames that tried to take over as well.

"No, you won't." Natsu growled slightly.

As Lucy got closer, she hit Natsu in the rib, causing him to cry out in pain. Seemingly satisfied, she turned away, but that was a mistake.

She got a hit to the head from Natsu, causing her to collapse into his arms.

"Lucy…" Natsu said, looking at her face.

He could hear her protesting in his head.

" _No, not Lucy, Lumina!"_

He wouldn't hear of any of that bullshit. A dragon always knows their mate; however, they want to disguise themselves. It was Lucy, he was sure of it. He just wondered why she was hiding from him. Hiding from the guild. Obviously, he wasn't going to tell them unless Lucy wanted him to.

He was far too loyal, like a dog, some would say.

He hugged Lucy into his chest, her features now back to normal, he wondered who took over her. Who would dare mess with her? He growled at the thought before returning to the guild.

Not with Lumina, this time.

But with Lucy.


	5. Hospital Wings

**Golden Galaxies**

 **Happy New Year!**

* * *

The guild hall doors carefully opened, by a hand that would normally knock them clean down. Some eyes turned to the entrance, where the salmon-haired dragon slayer stood. He had a look of confusion mixed with seriousness plastered on his face.

Natsu held Lucy in his arms. Well, at least he considered her Lucy. To the others, it just seemed like a sparring session went way to far again. Honestly, that was all he wanted them to think. He knew Lucy, and being bombarded with loads of questions was not her thing.

"What happened this time, Natsu? It looks worse than last time. Idiot." Erza asked, moving forward attempting to take Lucy from his arms.

Natsu glared at Erza, something he would never have dared to do if Lucy wasn't there. His onyx eyes pierced into hers, and Erza backed down. She didn't properly understand, but she knew when she couldn't win. She was manly. Erza sighed and pointed her finger adequately towards the hospital wing, knowing where he was hoping to go.

Nodding in thanks, Natsu left the hall, leaving the onlookers in astonished silence.

"When will Lumi wake up?" Happy asked, tugging at Natsu's scarf.

The pair sat in the guild hall. Beside them was a pile of dirty plates, around two meters high. Around the other side was more plates, stacked with food. They found this helped get Lucy of their minds.

Natsu couldn't bring himself to tell Happy Luminas identity. He knew it could only cause confusion to the exceed of why she didn't tell him. And it'll bring forth the questions again.

"Soon buddy, I guarantee it." Natsu grinned, rubbing his partner on the head then going back to consuming food. Reassured, Happy also carried on eating.

"Ugh, stop scoffing flame brains." A frosty voice was heard from above Natsu. He looked up to see Gray. For once he wore his clothes.

"No can do, Elsa, I'm getting my energy back."

"Then you don't want to know Luminas woken up? Shame, I guess everyone else should see to her instead." Gray said, walking off.

"Why you little! You're tricking me! You just want my food!" Natsu shouted over half the guild. Gray simply waved him off before walking in the direction of the hospital wing.

Lies or not, Natsu still wanted to see for himself. He couldn't help but feel slightly guilty about it… Everything. The whole reason this happened is because Lucy left. _Lucy left him._ And he didn't do anything about it. However, he did want to make it up to her.

Natsu practically sprinted to the hospital wing, and yes, he did knock all the doors in his way down, leaving them crumbled on the floor in ashes. And when he arrived there, he wasn't disappointed. But then he recalled. _Lucy doesn't know I know it's her._ He didn't have the heart to tell her, either.

"Yo, how ya feeling?" Natsu asked. She had only been out for a few hours.

"Gucci." Lucy replied, smiling. "Wouldn't want to miss the trials."

"Oh, yeah." Natsu grinned, getting slightly riled up at the thought. "Sorry about the… Spar earlier…"

"Well at least now I know if I run into you in the trials, I'm pretty much out." She laughed uncomfortably.

"Nah, you'll have your katana." Natsu pointed to the sword that rest on her lap, but then he winced when he saw petite droplets of crimson blood from earlier on in the day.

"I'm sorry too." Lucy blurted out. "I mean – I didn't mean too… I'm so sorry." She sat up on the edge of the bed, admiring the clothes she wore. Her hair was still in the same style, the two high ponytails, and the edges were no longer red like they were in the fight.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Just rest for now."

"Nah, don't worry I'm feeling A-Okay!" Lucy smiled and did a peace sign with her fingers, before standing up. She still had some bruises on her face. Also, her left arm had bandages wrapped around it firmly. "We've sparred before, we were fine before!"

"Ugh. Lumi people worry, alright?" Natsu said firmly, standing up.

"I get that! And since when did you get so tall?" Lucy raised an eyebrow in annoyance before attempting to walk around him, but Natsu stuck out his arm.

"Look, I know your injuries aren't major, but don't push yourself."

"I understand okay?" Lucy left the room walking out into the guild hall. She was irritated with Natsu. She could easily take care of herself, she wasn't a toddler. _She didn't want to be known as weak again._ Her eyes were brimmed with salty tears, but she couldn't cry.

Sniffing, Lucy wiped her eyes with her sleeve then looked around for a place to think. There were a few empty tables, the rest were occupied with drunk or drinking members, or others arm wrestling. Lucy rolled her eyes before sitting down at a table, her head in her hands. She thought back to when she first became Lumina and – crap. She remembered when she first fell from the tree she never actually had a scent coverer.

Lucy brushed it out of her mind, nobody had noticed otherwise they would've confronted her by now. She smiled gratefully at her new life, she had to look onwards and stop dawdling on the past.

Pumped up, Lucy leapt from her chair and raced outside, the wind blowing her hair slightly. Her eyes followed the leaves that were peacefully drifting from the respective trees, her hands curled into fists at her side, she was happy.

"Hello Lumina." A voice croaked from behind Lucy.

Lucy rapidly turned around, sighing when she realized it was Lissana.

Lissana held a bottle of whisky in her hand, and her voice was slightly slurred. She was drunk, that much was obvious.

"Hello, Lissana." Lucy murmured, not considering her eyes and turning away.

"Look at me please hunny." Lissana slurred, taking another gulp from her prized bottle.

Lucy observed her from the corner of her eye before turning around to face her head on. Lissana's eyes looked at her playfully, and she clapped in glee.

"I'd rather not talk to someone whose had one to many." Lucy held against her. _It brought back memories she'd rather forget._

"Oh, but I haven't! Lumi would you just listen to me…" Lissana pouted, moving uncomfortably close.

Unexpectedly, a beep came from Lissana's wrist, where a sky-blue watch lay. Lissana gave Lucy one last look before running off into the night, dropping her whisky as it was just extra weight.

"Well that was weird…" Lucy said, before shrugging it off. "But this guild is weird."

She yawned, gazing at the stars before walking off to go home. Then she remembered she didn't have one anymore. Lissana had her apartment. Yet her feet still carried her somewhere, and she didn't realize where it was until she came to the sign. It was a few moments before she walked further up the path and to the door.

Her heart felt like a raging tornado in her chest as it pounded furiously. Lucy did what her mind told her to do. She kicked the fucking door down. When the heavy wooden door collided with the ground, she stepped inside. There was no sound in the house except for the sound of Lucy's ragged breathing. But Lucy wasn't a dragon slayer.

Stepping closer towards a door, Lucy had debates in her head about whether to turn back or not. By the time, they had finished debating, she had already opened the door. The sound of muffled sobs filled her ears. 'Natsu…?' Lucy thought.

Although she was genuinely annoyed with her pal, the sound of his distress sliced through her savagely. Not knowing what overcame her, Lucy sat down next to his hammock, holding his hand.

"Lucy… don't leave me…" Natsu murmured in his sleep, reaching out his other hand.

Lucy held his other hand hoping it would give him comfort, what came next shocked her. The dragon slayer unconsciously pulled her into the hammock with him, wrapping both arms tightly around her. Lucy blushed furiously before wiping a tear from his cheek with her spare hand. Natsu's sobs faded and were soon covered up by his snores.

Lucy tried to stay awake, but from all the training sessions it was hard to. Sleep consumed her.

* * *

 **:)**

 **Ehh..**

 **Can anyone recommend any better sentence starters than 'she'? I keep using that one on accident and it's quite poor.**

 **Sorry for any mistakes in grammar/punctuation! I'm not an expert!**


	6. Not A Stalker

**Lucy Pov.**

I walked calmly into the guild hall, making sure to be noiseless as possible. The trials were in three months. I had been chosen, but there was a slight problem. _I had no fucking partner._ Well, maybe that was a good thing? I highly doubt it. I also doubt they'd let me enter without one. I sighed, and sat down at the table closest to me. It had no occupants.

My eyes flicked around every guild member, searching for the right candidate. Unfortunately, all the good people had already rather been chosen themselves or chosen as a partner. And we weren't allowed to choose an already S-Class member either. That was just dandy.

I wacked my hand against my palm a few times, hoping it would bring answers into my head. Surprisingly, it worked. Back when I was in the forest I encountered many animals. Some were like exceeds. They could talk. So, if I brought one back… it could be my partner.

Happily, I leapt upwards and walked out of the guild. My hopes were high. I was an optimist. Well, I guess I was. I at least tried to think positive.

As I walked to the forest I realized how much I missed Plue. Yet again… Plue wasn't like the Zodiacs, there was a lot of little dog keys around so it wouldn't seem suspicious. Silver keys weren't one of a kind like the golden ones. A gentle breeze flew by, ruffling my locks. I loitered for a moment, I liked this. Standing. Relaxing.

My feet took me to a nearby stream where the water flowed at a steady current. I took my shoes off as my feet relaxed into the water as I parked myself on the bank. Sitting. Relaxing. Remembering the morning.

 _-Flashback. –_

 _I woke up with a comfortable warmth around me. My eyes opened gradually to find others staring securely into them. I jumped, expecting to fall out of the hammock, but safe arms locked me next to the warmth._

 _I remembered the night before. Natsu pulling me in with him. Him crying. He looked fine now, that I was glad about. "Natsu?" I questioned. He grinned at me, part of his mouth hidden behind his scaled scarf. "Morning, Lume." I buried my face into his chest to hide the blush that was cheekily creeping onto my cheeks._

 _For some reason, he didn't question how I got there. He just grinned widely at me. I could have stared at him for- I mean, he's okay to look at, I guess. I drifted off to sleep again but when I woke up he wasn't there anymore._

 _-Flashback End. –_

A blush still creeped onto my face when I remembered. I swished my feet around and laid back, closing my eyes. However, resting didn't last long. A noise coming from the bushes brought me back to Earthland.

"Lu?!" A voice shouted, jumping out of the bushes and pinning me to the ground. From the light grey fur, I recognized who it was almost immediately.

"Setu?!" I cried out, throwing my arms around him.

Setu was a wolf who was much like an exceed. He could speak, although he couldn't sprout wings from his back. In the forest, he helped me when a massive monster was hungry for my blood.

"You're just the wolf I was looking for!" I smiled.

"That's funny, I was looking for you as well. I thought I smelt you. The forest is awfully quiet without you." Setu complained.

"Well… Do you want to accompany me as my partner then? I'm doing these trials and I don't have a partner." I laughed nervously, rubbing the back of my head.

"Happily," Setu agreed, climbing off me. "It would be my pleasure."

I shoved my boots back on before standing up. Setu came up to my waist in height. He had a long, shiny grey coat and striking icy blue eyes. The end of his furry tail was white.

"C'mon, let's go to my guild."

We soon arrived at the guild and I walked inside, Setu close behind me, making sure to be loud so people acknowledged my presence.

"Welcome back, Lumi." Mirajane said from the bar, her blue eyes smiling. "Who's the friend?"

"He's called Setu." I said. "My partner for the trials."

"Glad you found a partner." Mirajane replied, cleaning a glass.

I thanked her and sat down at my table, reaching into my endless bag and pulling out a loaf of bread that I bought on the way to the guild. I split it and gave half to Setu who gobbled it down almost immediately. My eyes scanned the guild for pink hair, but no luck. Natsu wasn't here right now.

I furrowed my brows, wondering where he might be. If he wasn't at the guild, then he was probably on a mission. That was obvious. I sighed, realizing that nobody from team Natsu was there either.

"Hey, Mira?" I asked.

"Hm?"

"Where is everyone?"

Mira's face saddened slightly at the question. "They went on a mission together."

"Oh." I said simply.

"They were going to ask you to come but they couldn't find you." She tried to soften the blow.

Actually, it didn't hurt me at all. I knew Lissana probably guilt-tripped Natsu into it. That made it all better for me.

"Nah, I'm cool with it." I smiled, resting my feet on the table. The guild was way too quiet without flame-head shouting. "How long is the quest?"

Mira looked uncomfortable again. "It's meant to last around two months. They're training whilst on it."

"Where did they go?" I asked. "Maybe I could catch up?"

"You could…" Mira thought for a moment, walking over to me with the job request in her hands before passing it to me.

"Thanks, Mira." I said before running out of the door, Setu close behind.

* * *

 **GUYSSSSS I'M SO SORRY! MY MIND WENT BLANK I COULDN'T WRITE WORDS. ;O; AND THIS CHAPTER IS SO SHORT! THE NEXT CHAPTER OUGHT TO BE GOOD. I HOPE SO. I DUNNO I'M 12 I CAN'T WRITE. HAHA. That probably put you off reading this ever again. I'm young but I like writing, lol. That might explain why some grammar or punctuation is off.**

 **Thanks for reading and reviewing~!**

 **-Vermilion. R**


	7. Newfound Food

**Hey guys, as you can tell I am very bad at updating. I mean, terrible. Horrendous. I've read this story through and concluded that it is a disaster. I'll try to carry on with it but sheesh. My writing is amateurish. I also realized that I made a mistake. After meaning to carry it out in third person I did the last chapter in Lucy's point of view. Sorry for the mistake there as well. I will be continuing third person from this chapter, but I may be using Lucy's point of view every now and again when something happens. Thanks for listening to my rambling. Also, I spelt Lisanna as Lissana… Kmn, please. Anyways, I'm 13 now, woo. Schools starting again tomorrow as well.**

Lucy sat on the train, her head rested in her arms. Her blonde hair relaxed limply either side of her as she tiredly looked out of the window. The blonde mage was out to find her friends. The friends that left her to go on a mission whilst she was in the dark forest.

Well, she understood why. She didn't have the old connection with them like she used to have, in her current form she'd hardly known them, they thought she was oblivious about the burdens they carried. But she knew about their dark pasts, the precious people they had lost, and the people that came back when they'd least expected it. Lucy knew some of those people. Like Jellal, and Lisanna.

Lisanna.

Lucy sighed heavily again, but it went unheard as the dusty train came to a creaking halt. Lucy shook Setu awake, the wolf bounding up, full of energy. As she exited the train, she took a glance at the job request again. They were clearing monsters from a beach resort? That was a surprisingly calm job for that team.

"Come on, Setu, it's not that far." Lucy smiled, the wolf wagging his tail. The streets were quite bare, if Lucy did say so herself. She would've thought in Summer everyone would want to go to a beach resort, were the monsters really that bad?

Lucy's eyes began to water, the area smelled like smoke and it irritated her eyes. Slowly, the smoke got so thick that it was hard to see through.

"NATSU! YOU IDIOT!" A voice that could easily be identified as Gray shouted.

Lucy put her arm over her eyes, shielding them from the smoke. She clung on to Setu's mane.

"Lead me to the voice." Lucy commanded.

Setu obliged, walking through the smoke for a few minutes until they both came to the beach. The palm trees on the resort were flaming, and Natsu was on the floor, sleeping. Natsu was a very heavy sleeper.

The resort owner was shouting at them all, telling them that they're just making a mess. "WAKE HIM UP IMMEDIATELY, OR MY WHOLE RESORT WILL BURN DOWN!" he bellowed. "I'LL FINE YOUR GODDAMN GUILD!"

Erza was leaned over Natsu, it was easy to tell she was the reason why he was knocked out. She had a little guilty look on her face like the look when she steals someone's cake.

"Hey, guys!" Lucy's mouth moved on its own as he walked towards them all.

Happy was flying in circles above Natsu, flapping wind onto his face to try and wake him up.

"It won't work." She told them surely. "He's such a bloody heavy sleeper, he's slept through fucking earthquakes."

Gray laughed. "yeah, he does have flame for brains."

Lucy smirked. "I want to try something… Since Natsu won't wake up, it may be our only option."

She paused. "Since Natsu taught me, I should be able to eat his flames, right?"

Erza put her hand on her chin, rubbing it gently. Her red hair swayed to the side as her eyes lit up. "You'll never know if you don't try." She smiled comfortingly.

Lucy breathed in, calming herself. She should be able to, right? Then she and Natsu would be even. Yeah, even.

She took her Katana and sheath off her back and passed them to Erza. "I don't want such a lovely katana to get damaged." Lucy winked at her.

The flames were hot. They harmed her. But if Natsu could eat Bora's flames and Bora couldn't eat his, shouldn't she be able to eat Natsu's since he couldn't eat hers? It was confusing, she knew that.

Lucy took a moment to consider if her logic was flawed in any ways, and she could find many holes in it. Nonetheless, she walked in to the fire, it consumed her.

The fire roared and flicked around her like a wild beast, the flames seemed to be growling. Lucy's own green flames flickered against the red ones, as Lucy opened her mouth as if she was yawning.

A loud intake of breath could be heard as Lucy consumed Natsu's flames. She stood there for a few minutes, until they had all gone.

Lucy gasped as if she were choking, then let out a massive burp.

Just as she did that, Natsu woke up, rubbing his eyes.

"What did I miss?" Natsu asked dumbly.

"YOU NEARLY BURNT DOWN THE ENTIRE FUCKING RESORT YOU OVERGROWN LIZARD BOY!" Gray shouted.

"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU ICE FREAK!"

"YOURE THE ONE WITH PINK HAIR!"

"WELL AT LEAST I WASN'T NAME AFTER MY HAIR COLOUR LIKE YOU!"

Erza stood behind them, her eyes glowing dangerously. She banged their heads together, watching as they were both knocked out.

"hey, I'm back guys!" Lisanna came running from the large hotel. "The toilets are luxurious! ~"

"You should have cleaned yourself then, you smell like that large shit you just took." Lucy mumbled to herself. She then chuckled. "good one, Lucy."

Thankfully, Natsu was knocked out so he couldn't use his enhanced senses to hear. Lucy quickly scolded herself for being so stupid.

Nighttime soon fell, and the team retired to the rooms the resort owner had reluctantly given. The reward from this was a free few months at the resort. To relax, improve, relax, sleep and eat. Lucy was bunking with Lisanna and Erza.

"Yes! I love sleepovers!" Erza sang, requipping into her armor.

Setu lay curled up on Lucy's bed. "Good luck, aha." He chuckled. "This is gonna be a lot of nights of sleepovers."

Lisanna smiled at Lucy darkly. "Lots of nights of fun." She chimed in.


	8. Burned Up

Lucy awoke with sweat running down her face. Her clothes were burnt, as were the bed covers. Ash covered the pillows in the room and the light next to her bed hung sideways. Her peachy lips were chapped, and she subconsciously ran her tongue over them, wincing a little.

She sat up, her hair falling from her messy bun, onto her tattered clothing. The others were asleep. The celestial mage sighed, stripping off her bed covers before briefly looking behind her. Virgo. She needed Virgo. Ash lay all over the floor around her, wolf pawprints seen prominent in it. Setu. He would know what happened.

She pushed the thought from her mind, grimacing at her new pajamas being ruined. She had loved them, the cute little chocolates on the smooth pink fabric, them being silky smooth. She reached into her bag, taking out Virgo's key. She rubbed her finger over the sign, pleading quietly.

"Gate of the maiden, Virgo." Lucy whispered.

The familiar flash of gold light appeared, before fading quickly, revealing Virgo.

Virgo bowed, before nodding and looking at her master. "Princess." Virgo allowed herself to smile. "We've missed you."

Lucy sheepishly placed her hand behind her head, scratching slightly. She then sighed, pointing to the other sleeping girls in the room. "I'm sorry, Virgo, I haven't had enough privacy to be able to summon anyone, lately."

Virgo nodded. "Of course, Princess." She looked over Lucy's clothes, then to her naked bed. "You need new bed covers and clothes, I assume?"

"Correct, Virgo, but it would be good if they didn't scream 'I'm from the Celestial Realm!' if that's possible?"

"I can do that." Virgo nodded, before disappearing silently.

Lucy then waited. Luckily, her bed was in the corner of the room, next to a window. A half wall ran through half of the room, giving a wall between Lucy's bed and the rest of the beds.

She waited around five minutes before Virgo appeared again, simple covers in her hands.

"Sorry for the wait, Princess." Virgo apologized, passing Lucy the clothes.

"It's fine, Virgo, you know me. No need to be so formal, c'mon, lighten up."

Virgo looked at the floor. "Princess…"

Lucy placed the clothes and covers on her bed, before walking over to Virgo. She put her hand under her chin and the other on her shoulder. She lifted Virgo's chin, looking into her sharp blue eyes.

"What are you so worried about?" Lucy asked quietly. "I'm never going to forget you guys, okay? I know I can't summon you that much at the moment and I'm sorry…" Lucy clenched Virgo's shoulder. "I'll think of a way to make it up to you guys."

"Princess, it's okay. Remember time passes slower in the Spirit World. We don't get that bored."

"Just remember, you're my friend." Lucy took her hands-off Virgo and held her hand out for a fist bump. Virgo bumped her fist back.

"Friends?" Virgo asked, smiling a little.

"Always, Virgo, always."

Virgo vanished in another attack of bright light, before the room was once again quiet.

Lucy made her bed, putting on the simple, pastel yellow, (heat proof!) bedding, before taking her clothes off and replacing them with the new ones.

Virgo had given her a pair of black mini-shorts, tall combat boots and a white tank top. She had also given her new pajamas, which somehow Lucy found to like more than her last ones.

They had constellations on them.

And, in amongst the pile, the celestial mage found a whip. The handle read:

 _We're always here, you know._

Lucy could feel her eyes watering. She missed her spirits. The sky began to light up, displaying quiet purples and a few reds. Birds outside could be heard fluttering around. Suddenly, Lucy felt a weight on her lap. She looked down.

"Setu." She grinned. "Where'd you go?"

There was blood around his jaws, he licked it, smirking. "I was hungry, Lu, you can't expect me to go hungry, can you?"

Lucy heard her own stomach rumble like a lion. "No, I can't blame you at all." She blushed in embarrassment, standing up.

* * *

 **Breakfast time – 8am.**

Lucy sat in the hotel's café, Setu by her feet, sipping a strawberry and banana smoothie. Natsu walked into the café, accompanied by Gray and Happy.

"Morning, Lumi!" Natsu chanted, sitting down next to her. He turned to the bar assistant. "Gimme the spiciest thing you've got!" he let out a devilish laugh.

Lucy licked her lips nervously again, should she ask Natsu if he woke up and everything was burnt…? Or, is that a touchy subject? Would he think she was weird? Would he suspect anything? Does he know that she ate his flames, will he blame it on that? Would he get mad? Could he smell Virgo on her? Will he find out who she really is?

"Earthland to Lumin?" A familiar voice called out.

"Good morning, Erza." Lucy replied blearily. "What are we doing today?"

"I was actually planning on a team bonding day… Sparring sessions!"

Lucy groaned inwardly. Surprisingly, Natsu caught on to this.

"Wouldn't you much rather go cake shopping, Erza?" Natsu enquired. "We did fight off those monsters yesterday and everything and uhm… you can never get enough… cake?"

Erza's eyes ignited like lightbulbs. "That…" she paused. "IS A GREAT IDEA! I've never been able to explore these cake shops… there might be the best cake ever here!"

"I dunno about you, Lumina, but I'd much rather do something else." Gray exhaled. "Ice skating, perhaps. Or maybe even training."

"Cake buying is an excellent team exercise, Gray!" Erza argued. "We get to know each other's characters more!"

"We get to know who wants to gain weight the fastest." Gray fired back. He didn't know what came over him. Arguing with Erza? What was he thinking?

Unexpectedly, a sphere of fire whacked Gray in the face. Natsu looked at Gray smugly.

"What did you do that for, pink pubes!?" Gray boomed angrily.

"You're the one that wanted to fight, cake abs."

"Oh, it's on." Gray chuckled.

"TAKE IT OUTSIDE, BOYS!" Erza thundered angrily.

The boys ran from the noise as fast as they could, finding themselves on the beach outside of the hotel. Wiping little droplets of sweat off their foreheads, they faced each other.

Happy, Setu and Lucy all followed them outside, sitting a safe distance away.

Meanwhile, indoors, Lisanna was looking at Erza sweetly.

"I'll go cake shopping with you, Erza!" She smiled. "We can get the boy's a cake!"

In Lisanna's pocket, there was a vial of magic poison.

"Even Lumina." Lisanna added.

* * *

 **A/N: I do not hate Lisanna, I actually quite like her, but most stories need evil in. And I have ideas.**

 **And Lucy sees one of her spirits again! yey!**

 **Please review with advice, etc. Thanks in advance.**

 **-VermilionRage**


	9. Weakness

**A/N: HeyO! I have something to admit; I have no idea what is going on with this story! I kinda only had the beginning planned, and I've never really had a set storyline… So, quite frankly, I'm seeing where my mind takes me and going from there! I really want to make a Halloween story rip, ;-;**

 **Filler chapter!**

 **QUICK WARNING: I HAVE AN EXTREMELY FAULTY SPACE BAR!**

 **Disclaimer; characters belong to Hiro Mashima 3.**

* * *

 **The Future Awaits**

 _By VermilionRage_

* * *

 **Chapter Nine:**

 **Weakness**

* * *

The town was rather beautiful. Hanging baskets of delightful reds and lilacs sprouted from the clean bricks of houses, shops and lamp posts, the whole place being like a children's nursery, rainbows and cheer.

The air smelt pure and, as it was next to the ocean, it also smelt rather salty as well.

Erza didn't mind this, though, as the only smell she was focused on was the saccharine scent that clouded the streets, overpowering the clean smell of the sea.

She followed the scent like a young puppy would follow a treat, hopefully and obediently.

She was soon rewarded by bumping into a glass door, her destination.

The girls walked into the bakery, smells overtaking them.

Lisanna walked over to some rum and raspberry cakes, the base being chocolate decorated with raspberries all over the top in the shape of a heart, she thought Natsu might like that one.

"Erza, over here," Lisanna called out, laying one of her sweaty palms onto the glass, making it steam up almost immediately.

"One second, Lisanna, this strawberry cake is calling me…" Erza said dreamily, her eyes glittering.

Lisanna wacked her sweaty palm against her forehead, grabbing Erza's arm and physically dragging her over to the cake she wanted to get for the pinkette.

"I want this one for Natsu!" Lisanna said.

Erza raised an eyebrow, "Natsu has never been fond of overly sweet things, I think we should get him a cinnamon bun, or a ginger cupcake." She sniffed the air. "They even do chili biscuits here!" She giddily ran over to the strawberry cakes again, drooling.

Lisanna sighed angrily, pouting. "Erzaaaaa! But we must get this one for Natsu, it is perfect for him!"

Erza purposely ignored her this time, instead she started ordering, it was so much like looking after a child. Erza lost her rag when Lisanna had started tugging on the end of her armor.

"Enough, Lisanna, I am getting fed up of you acting like a child." Erza scolded, ordering a cool vanilla cake for Gray.

The cake was decorated in snowflakes and small blue icing flowers. It was quite sweet, but Erza knew that Gray had a secret sweet tooth.

Now, for Lucy she didn't know what to get. As she knew her as Lumina and had no idea of what flavors Lumina preferred, she just settled on a small blueberry muffin and a few macaroons.

Erza had only had macaroons a few times before, as she had found them quite hard to find. But she loved the sweet taste that they held.

She had let Lisanna order her own thing, but, after Lisanna's embarrassing performance she had decided she wouldn't buy her a cake. After all, she had nearly made Erza drop her precious strawberry cake! Erza had bought around five strawberry cakes, all packed up carefully in cardboard boxes.

She had decided on some strawberry fairy cakes as well, instead of the cake being used as small wings on top the decorators had placed a strawberry that had been cut in half.

Erza daren't think about the price. She had been to a much less professional cake shop before and the price had ended up much over twenty thousand jewels. And she knew the cakes would last her a little less than a week.

"How much?" Erza asked reluctantly.

Erza paled at the price, nonetheless she took Lisanna and the cakes back to the resort.

"I'll take the cakes to our kitchen, Erza." Lisanna smiled widely, holding out her arms for the boxes.

Erza nodded in thanks before walking towards Gray and Natsu, who were still fighting.

The apartment that they all shared was cute. It held two bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room, a massive nine panel window looking over the beachside.

Lisanna snickered as she placed the cake boxes on the kitchen table. She picked out the blueberry muffin, reaching into her pocket. Her hand tightened around the green vial before bringing it out and laying it next to the muffin.

She needed a way to do it subtly. A way that if she did it, nobody would notice.

She gave up after a while.

She took an injection syringe out of her pocket, filling it to the top with the sickly green liquid before injecting it straight into the muffin. She covered it over again before pocketing all signs of it, placing the muffin carefully back into the box.

The others came in not much later, Lisanna had made them all dinner by then.

The cakes were all in the fridge, still boxed, and the muffin still poisoned.

Lisanna, surprisingly not knowing how to cook very well, had made soup and bread.

Mirajane had tried to teach her numerous times, even giving up some of her time after work to try and coax her little sister into cooking, but the attempts had been useless.

Lisanna had no natural talent for cooking, she was more into evil, devilish things.

She remembered the time she had gone Trick or Treating with Mira and Elfman.

She was young, around five, and an old man had said to her "trick or treat?" when Mirajane was thanking the woman at the last door for giving her a full box of chocolates. Lisanna, being genuinely curious, had picked trick.

All her candy had gone missing, she was distraught.

It had returned not long after, though, the old man not being anywhere in sight.

Lisanna had tried tricking someone the next year, and the thrill she got from it was amazing, ever since then she thrived to trick people, to see the horrified looks on their faces.

Soon, everyone was packing away the dishes and soup bowls, ready for the cakes.

Nobody noticed how Lisanna's face lit up when Erza mentioned getting the pudding outs. She laid out the dishes in front of everyone before getting the cakes and laying them out in front also.

Natsu's nose scrunched up when he realized he had been given a sweet cake, he hated sweet things.

"Thanks, Erza," Gray smiled gratefully, "and you, Lisanna."

Lisanna muffled a snicker, "anything for Natsu!"

Happy, who was sitting next to Lucy, ear's flopped, "No fish cake?"

"Don't worry, Happy, you can share my muffins." Lucy offered.

Happy's eyes lit up in joy, he had never taken Lucy as one for sharing, but he was glad Lumina would.

"Really?! Thank you, Lumi!" Happy grabbed the blueberry muffin, gingerly splitting in half with his paws, passing Lucy the other half.

"Tasty!" Lucy smiled, moving it up to her mouth. She had never been fond of blueberries, and the vibes in the room were cold.

The muffin was obviously fresh, but the center that she had been given was crusty and hard. Lucy moved it away from her face, observing it carefully.

It wasn't until Happy cried out that she realized she had every right to be suspicious.

The muffin was poisoned.


	10. We All Have Our Demons

**a/n; happy new year peoples 3**

 **a v v bad chappie here and I changed my name js and shane if you're reading this pls pretend my ff never existed and take like professor oak and leaf- pls.**

 **and short chappie too, sorry! Love my cliffhangers ;) they're a bit pathetic but o well**

* * *

 **The Future Awaits**

 _By Aiyzu_

* * *

 **Chapter Ten:**

 **We All Have Our Demons**

* * *

A week after the incident with Happy and he still hadn't woken up. They still had no idea who poisoned him as Lisanna had covered her tracks quite neatly, she had found.

Lisanna still harbored the disappointment that Lucy herself hadn't been poisoned – infact, she had been quite upset when the little blue cat began rolling on the floor, tears stained to his face, foam flowing out of his mouth.

She'd helped hatch Happy with Natsu – he was one of the things that kept them bonded, a reason why she thought they were inseparable. Of course, Lisanna had a weird way of looking at things. She never once thought that Happy didn't like her very much, no, she always had the fake idea in her head that Happy worshipped her like some kind of stupid God.

Lucy sat, her back against the wall, next to Happy's bed. The bed that he was laid in was Natsu's – it was the closest one they could find. She felt an awful lot of guilt from what happened to Happy. Happy loved her and trusted her yet she let him eat a poisoned muffin? And she didn't get poisoned herself.

Considering they didn't trust her fully as Lumina yet – Lucy was sure that they would suspect her for what happened. And she couldn't even heal him properly.

Wendy and Carla were on their way though – that was a positive. They hadn't taken it seriously at first. They just thought it was simple food poisoning at first, but the fact that she hadn't got poisoned and Happy had? That she didn't even try to eat it first? Happy was her friend.

Lucy got up, tucking the blankets over Happy's blue form. Letting out a sigh, she gave Happy one last glance before exiting the bedroom, checking the time and then walking to the kitchen. She grabbed a transparent glass, filling it with cool water and taking a delicate sip.

After then gulping the whole thing down, Lucy reached into her pouch for a key, calling Virgo into the room.

"How can I help you, Princess?" Virgo asked quietly.

"Follow me." Lucy whispered, ushering Virgo into the bedroom with rapid hand movements.

Lucy pointed to Happy.

"He's been poisoned, any idea on what kind of poison."

"Princess, there's no doubt this poison comes from a demon."

Lucy sighed inwardly, her mind racing with ideas.

"Can you get rid of it?"

"I think I can."

Lucy's mind raced, she didn't think of Wendy and Carla, and how they'd have to go all that way for nothing. She just wanted Happy safe.

"Okay, please do it Virgo…"

Virgo obeyed, the room filling up with a misty golden glow.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the girls' bedroom, Natsu and Gray had decided to stay over for a slumber party whilst Happy recovered.

Natsu had fallen asleep on Lisanna's bed, and of course Lisanna had taken this as a sign that Natsu was madly in love with her. She curled into his side, savoring the fact that Lucy wasn't in the room.

Gray, however, had taken Lucy's bed, stating that she could sleep in his next to Happy. Lucy simply shrugged at this, not minding in the least. It gave her much more privacy for if something were to happen in the night.

Erza had kept her own bed, saying that 'slumber parties were her favourite thing in the world.'

Lisanna draped Natsu over her lap, uncomfortably tugging at his salmon locks. Natsu groaned in his sleep and moved in discomfort, but Lisanna took this as a sign of affection and carried on pulling his hair.

"So, Lisanna, truth or dare?" Erza smiled, hugging her pillow. The curtains were partway open, moonlight filling the spacious room. Gray stretched out on Lucy's bed, listening to them through the divider.

"Truth!" Lisanna said quickly, a little too quickly.

Erza rubbed her thumb against her chin, smirking her evil smile. She flicked her red hair behind her back before leaning forward in her bed, cushion under her stomach.

"Do you have a crush?"

"Obviously." Lisanna boasted. "And he likes me back, and we're pretty much boyfriend and girlfriend."

Erza still had some pent-up annoyance with Lisanna about the cakes. Her and Lisanna never seemed to get along very well.

"Right, sure." Erza smiled. "May I ask who?"

Lisanna gave her a blunt look before looking at the man she was sharing a bed with. Even if the man didn't know it.

"Natsu, of course! He promised me we were going to get married when we were younger! Happy would tell you." Lisanna sat up, slipping off her bed. "I'll go get him."

Erza's frantic mutters of telling her that Happy was still unconscious seemed to fall on death ears as Lisanna skipped out of the room, not even bothering to knock.

* * *

Lucy's heart stopped as she heard someone barge into the room. They were meant to be asleep, now what? They would spot Virgo and she'd be over. Well, if it was Erza maybe she could swear her into secrecy but if it was Lisanna she'd have no chance. Or maybe?

"YOU!" Lisanna cried, pointing at Lucy.

Let's just hope Lisanna is as dumb as she looks, Lucy thought.


	11. Fixed

**a/n; I'm sorry about the lack of updates, I've had trouble with getting word to work and overall, I completely forgot about this story. Let's see who's still active. I read through the rest of the story, and I honestly felt sorry for the readers. It's so messy, cliché, and honestly cringy. I really would like to rewrite it. Shortest chapter, just to show I'm alive.**

* * *

 **The Future Awaits**

 _By Aeari_

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven:**

 **Fixed.**

* * *

"Lumina!" Lisanna yelled, "Get out!"

Lucy exhaled in relief, Virgo seemed to have left when she heard Lisanna coming. That saved her a whole lot of trouble.

However, now there was the problem of Lisanna. She seemed to have forgotten that Lucy herself was to sleep in this room, with Happy, and not her. She didn't even understand why she was coming in to see the now healed cat, let alone why she was now telling her to get out.

Lucy scoffed, "and why do I have to get out?"

"Because I want a private moment with Happy! He is my pet, after all."

Lucy took a few steps closer to Lisanna, looking at her skimpy pajamas and cheap red lipstick, and let out a small chuckle. "Okay, Lisanna." She decided, formulating a plan. "You stay with Happy, I'll go in the room with the others."

Obviously, Lisanna thought this was a terrible idea. Letting a girl, that she handsomely disliked into a room with her man, yikes, that did not go down well on the white-haired girl.

Lisanna huffed, her cheeks getting a small red tinge. "Okay, have it your way!" She said childishly, leaving the room and slamming the door behind her.

Lucy sighed, sitting down on the bed opposite Happy's. There was a small possibility that Lisanna could've seen Virgo, but yet again, the possibility was small.

Moonlight shimmered through the window onto Lucy's small form, illuminating the blonde parts of her hair and reflecting against her keys. Shiny lights filled the bedroom as Lucy wiped sweat from her forehead, a small smile gracing her lips.

Honestly, Lisanna was a nuisance to her. But at least she still got to spend some time with her old friends. Heck, she even shared a magic with Natsu now. She couldn't say she wished she was never Lumina in the first place, because she secretly loved it.

She agreed with herself that maybe she overreacted though, she'd only been in the guild hall for a few minutes with them, and she wasn't the most important thing in the world. There was no need to have to become a different person, however she was too far in, there was no going back.

Another part of her thought that a part of them knew it was her, she was a small criminal in Magnolia yet they took her in without a second thought. They let her be one of them again without even knowing the first thing about her.

Lucy's thoughts continued as the laid herself down on the cool sheets, staring up at the white ceiling. Her gaze slowly turned to happy, the small smile gracing her lips again.

"Thank you, Happy." She said sincerely.

As she looked up at the ceiling another stray thought wandered into her mind. The time she fought Natsu, the darkness took over. She couldn't help it, it just climbed into her brain, immobilizing her and making her lose control of her own body. All she felt was a piercing, prominent pain.

She closed her eyes, losing herself in the silk sheets of Gray's bed, falling into a not so peaceful slumber.

Suddenly, she felt the bed shift, and another warm body join hers, and once she realized who it was a large smile came onto her face.

"Hello, Setu," Lucy smiled quietly, laying a hand on the canine's large head. Setu groaned in response, burrowing himself in the covers. Lucy was going to have to ask where he was later.

She found with her best friend there, she was much more relaxed. So, the celestial mage closed her eyes, and fell into a soft slumber.


End file.
